thank you and good night. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] democratic leaders nancy pelosi and chuck schumer responded to president trump's first national address. they called on the president and congressional republicans to save the border security debate for later in the year. >> good evening. i appreciate the opportunity to speak to the american people tonight about how we can end the shutdown and meet the needs of the american people.

sadly, much of what we heard from president trump throughout the shutdown has been full of misinformation and even malice. the president has chosen fear. we want to start with the facts. the fact is on the very first day of this congress, house democrats passed legislation to reopen government and fund smart, effective border security solutions. the president rejecting these bipartisan bills over his obsession with forcing american taxpayers to waste billions of dollars on an expensive and ineffective wall, a wall he always promised mexico would pay for. the fact is president trump has chosen to hold hostage critical services for the health and safety of the american people, and the paychecks of 800,000 innocent workers across the nation, many of them veterans. he promised to keep government shutdowns for months or years, no matter whom it hurts. that is plain wrong. we all agree we need to secure our border while honoring our values. we can build the infrastructure at ports of entry. we can install new technology to scan cars and trucks for drugs coming into the nation. we can hire the personnel to

facilitate trade and immigration at the border. we can find more innovation to detect unauthorized crossings. the fact is women and children at the border are not a security threat, they are a humanitarian challenge, a challenge president trump's own cruel and counterproductive policies have only deepened. the fact is president trump must stop holding the american people hostage, stop manufacturing a crisis, and must reopen the government. thank you. sen. schumer: thank you speaker pelosi. my fellow americans, we address you tonight for one reason only -- the president of the united states, having failed to get mexico to pay for his ineffective, unnecessary border wall, and unable to convince congress or the american people to foot the bill, has shut down the government. american democracy doesn't work that way. we don't govern by temper

tantrum. no president should pound the table and demand he gets his way or else the government shuts down, herding millions of americans who are treated as leverage. tonight and throughout this debate and throughout his presidency, president trump has appealed to fear, not fact, division, not unity. make no mistake, democrats and president both want stronger border security. however, we sharply disagree with the president about the most effective way to do it. so how do we untangle this mess? well, there is an obvious solution -- separate the shutdown over arguments for border security. there is bipartisan legislation supported by democrats and republicans to reopen government while allowing debate over border security to continue. there is no excuse for hurting millions of americans over a

policy difference. federal workers are about to miss a paycheck. some families can't get a mortgage to buy a new home. farmers and small businesses will not get the loans they desperately need. most presidents have used oval office addresses for noble purposes. this president just used the backdrop of the oval office to manufacture a crisis, stoke fear, and divert attention from the turmoil in his administration. my fellow americans, there is no challenge so great that our nation cannot rise to meet it. we can reopen the government and continue to discuss policy. we can secure our border without an ineffective expensive wall, and we can welcome legal immigrants and refugees without compromising safety and security. the symbol of america should be the statue of liberty, not a 30

foot wall. so our suggestion is a simple one -- mr. president, reopen the government, and we can work to resolve our differences over border security, but end this shutdown now. thank you. >> c-span's washington journal, live every day with news and policy issues that affect you. we will discuss the impact on federal workers of the government shutdown. in.my connolly also weighs don bacon joins us to talk about border security. be sure to watch washington journal live at 7:00 eastern. join the discussion. some of our live

coverage wednesday. on day 19 of the government shutdown, the house meets at 10:00 a.m. eastern. members debate and vote on a spending bill to reopen the treasury department and the irs live on c-span. , theresa mayn2 answers questions from members of the house of commons less than a week from the january 15 vote on her plan to leave the european union. then the senate gavels and to continue debate on a middle east security bill that would pay for security assistance to israel over 10 years and expand sanctions against syria. democratic senator, let harris discusses heris book and her governing style. there are more live events on c-span3. the pentagon's chief financial officer talks about the need for financial oversight of the defense department. several members of congress and leaders from the naacp center for american progress and the

national lgbtq task force meet to voice their support for hr thata 571 page bill outlines house democrats priorities. at 6:00 p.m., democratic leaders swear in members of the congressional hispanic caucus. hill for theitol announcement of legislation to expand background checks for the sale and transfer of firearms. we hear from house speaker nancy pelosi, gun violence prevention task force chair mike thompson, and former representative gabby giffords of arizona . this is 20 minutes. speaker pelosi: good afternoon, everyone. i'm honored to be here with special guests who will speak about an epidemic in our country that must be stopped, that we have an opportunity to stop. before